Solstice East’s on-site high school, Timbersong Academy, takes a short summer break over the 4th of July, allowing many students to go on home visits. During this time, with a decreased census of students on campus, the clinical and leadership teams are able to orchestrate a week of intensive pieces of training and workshops for all staff to come together to learn and collaborate on best practices.

Throughout this week-long training intensive, mentors, nurses, teachers, adventure therapy staff, clinicians, and administrative staff arrived on campus to workshop and review the following:

• Back to the Basics – A review of the ‘why’ students are referred to residential treatment and prioritizing physical and emotional safety.
• Alumni Panel – A group of graduates reflected on their time at Solstice East, what helped them the most and life after graduation.
• Role-Playing – A workshop allowing staff to practice the relationship-based pressure continuum in a variety of day-to-day situations with students regarding empowerment, accountability and role-modeling.
• Equine & You – An equine group for staff to experience their own patterns, as our students do, through interaction with our 9 horses on-campus. 
• Motivational Interviewing & Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) – A training on two modalities to help you attune and support students in empowering ways.

“We want to take every opportunity that we can to collect ourselves as a community, to assess the work we do, and to ensure we are providing the best services possible to our students and families,” says Executive Director Danielle Andrews MA, LCMHC, CFTP. “While this is certainly ongoing, these week-long intensives allow us the chance to dive in deeper and to further strengthen our team.”

About Solstice East

Solstice East is a residential treatment center for students ages 14-17 nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of Asheville, North Carolina. Solstice East is committed to treating each student through a combination of individual, family, equine, and adventure therapies as well as treating and diagnosing a range of issues including (but not limited to) trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, self-harming behaviors, attachment, and identity issues. Solstice East assists adolescents and their families in developing excellence in relationships, influence, character, and health throughout their life journey. Our holistic approach acknowledges that mental health diagnoses are only one piece of the puzzle; we strive to help students succeed in multiple areas of their lives.